This Will of Constantino Brumidi was brought to light in Washington in
1919 when a lengthy article appeared in the Washington Sunday Star of
November 2, entitled:
“_Brumidi Paintings Found in Washington
After a Search of Forty Years._”
It seems that in 1919, The National Savings and Trust Company, on New
York Avenue, about a block from the White House, found in their storage
vault two large boxes containing twenty-four Brumidi paintings including
a sketch of the Dome canopy--a circular canvas upon which was painted
the design for the ceiling of the Dome. When and by whom these boxes
were stored will probably never be known but it is entirely possible
that they were packed away in the early years after having been willed
to Laurence Brumidi.
The newspaper article for November 2, 1919, quotes the accumulated
storage charges as $300. It states also that “the packing evidently was
done by Brumidi himself because they were arranged so expertly as to
sustain no damage whatever.”
The boxes were opened by Court Order by Mr. Edward P. Schwartz who was
named executor of the 1879 Brumidi will, and also “named committeeman by
the Court” for Laurence who had been committed to St. Elizabeth’s
Hospital.
All of these Brumidi paintings found in 1919 are reported to have been
sold at auction, including two large portraits of Lola Germon, Brumidi’s
American-born wife and the mother of Laurence. The Sunday Star, in the
above-mentioned article, reproduced the portrait of Lola and commented
upon her beauty as well as upon her likeness to many of the Madonnas in
the Capitol frescoes.
Charles E. Fairman, art curator of the Capitol, was present at the time
these storage boxes were opened and has left a list of the contents of
each box. He records a total of twenty-four paintings. Fairman also
makes mention of the two portraits of Lola Germon in heavy gold,
oval-shaped frames. But no one connected with the Capitol Building, so
far as I have been able to learn, made a bid for any of the stored
Brumidi paintings.
I have found, however, that two letters are on file from Mr. Edward P.
Schwartz to Capitol authorities giving detailed information concerning
the stored paintings. The Schwartz letter dated October 21, 1919,
follows:
“Sometime ago I was made Executor under the Will of Mrs. Lola V.
Kirkwood, who was the widow of Constantino Brumidi, the artist who
devoted more than 25 years of his life to the beautification of the
Capitol. Mr. Brumidi has a son who is now in the Insane Asylum and
under Mr. Brumidi’s Will, which was filed and never probated, he left
all of his etchings of the Capitol and designs, etc., together with
other paintings to his son. The Court appointed me Committeeman of this
son with instructions to examine the several boxes that have been in
storage for over thirty years and have their contents appraised and
report to the Court. If you are interested, call by my office and we
will go over and have these boxes opened to see what they contain as you
may be able to make some suggestion as to their disposal.”
On February 21, 1920, Mr. Schwartz wrote again to the Capitol, this time
to the Joint Committee on the Library:
“I am sending herewith enclosed an item in the Sunday’s Star entitled
‘Brumidi Paintings found in Washington after a Search of Forty Years.’
You will notice that these paintings are the original, or the copies
from which Brumidi decorated the Capitol. Among the twenty-seven oil
paintings of various sizes belonging to the estate of Brumidi, of which
I am the Executor and Committeeman for his son, Laurence S. Brumidi, who
is now in St. Elizabeth’s Asylum for the insane, there is one worthy of
consideration, and that is the original oil painting of the Rotunda of
the Capitol which I have in storage and is in excellent condition. This
miniature is in oil, about 35 inches in diameter from which, no doubt,
he copied his wonderful Rotunda painting. It is quite an education and
shows the process of making a great picture. There are quite a number of
his paintings in the collection, and I was wondering if the Committee on
the Library would be sufficiently interested to confer with the object
of offering a suggestion as to the final disposition of these paintings.
It is my judgment they should be in the Capitol, as they are all, I
believe, originals, and the only ones existing.... Personally, I would
like to see these paintings in the Capitol.”
Mr. Fairman has left the following memorandum, dated October 22, 1919,
in the Capitol files referring to the information from Mr. Schwartz:
“Called on Edward P. Schwartz at 734 Fifteenth Street, N. W., in
relation to attached letter. Mr. Schwartz showed me a copy of the Will
of Constantino Brumidi, executed at 921 G Street, N. W., June 27, 1879,
in which he appoints Robert Mason of Washington, D. C., his executor.
The Will is witnessed by Wm. H. Appleton, A. H. Whittaker, Martha Dent,
and Robert Mason. I made a copy of one section of the Will. While the
entire Will is in favor of Laurence S. Brumidi, this paragraph seems to
be the only one in which this office is interested:
“‘All engravings, works of art, paintings, and apparatus pertaining
thereto ... all designs, sketches and tracings for the frieze of the
Capitol of the U. S.’
“Mr. Schwartz also showed me his authority as Committeeman for Laurence
S. Brumidi (insane) and stated that he was also the executor of the Will
of Lola V. Kirkwood, former wife of Constantino Brumidi, that Mrs.
Kirkwood married a second time one Kirkwood an Army officer, that he had
searched for the boxes referred to in his letter and finally found them
in storage at the National Savings and Trust Co., corner of N. Y. Ave. &
15th St., where they had been for over thirty years, and on which he had
paid storage for that period amounting to about $386. He further stated
that Mrs. Kirkwood and Laurence S. Brumidi had forgotten where the two
boxes were stored. He will fix a date for opening the boxes and phone me
so that I can be present and see the contents of the boxes.”
On January 16, 1925, the Capitol authorities were again informed
concerning the pending auction of these Brumidi originals, this time by
a newspaper correspondent living in Washington. His name was Ashmun
Brown and this is what he wrote:
“It may interest you to know that a considerable collection of the
paintings of Brumidi, the fresco artist, is to be sold at auction at
Sloane’s Gallery, on January 28th and 29th, by order of the Probate
Court incident to the settlement of the estates of his widow and son.
The pictures are to be open to inspection at Sloane’s on January
25th-28th. While I have never seen this collection, I understand that it
contains several of Brumidi’s original studies for frescoes which now
adorn the walls of the Capitol. I am told that at one time a valuation
of about $20,000 was placed on this collection. However, when it was
offered for sale at auction several months ago, the highest bid obtained
was only $800. So at the insistence of the heirs another offering has
been ordered. It occurred to me that you might be interested in the
matter.”
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